BITTERSWEETThere have been so many derivative works based on the same history, from the more thorough and reliable 2005 documentary Inside Deep Throat to the splendidly inventive and perceptive 2009 locally premiered rock musical, Lovelace, that this pleasant and sympathetic yet relatively pedestrian rendering lacks much justification save for those thoroughly uninitiated.Myron Meisel – The Hollywood Reporter

BITTERSWEETIf “The Deep Throat Sex Scandal” could be reworked into a 90-minute intermissionless piece, with the trial becoming a 15-minute finale staged with the same humor and outrageous originality that energizes the story of the film’s making, Bertolino and Douglas might have something.Travis Michael Holder – Backstage

SWEETThe production is entertaining and instructive yet sometimes feels haphazard. Director Jerry Douglas and the design team capture the cheesy ambience of porn filmmaking, but the simulated rough-around-the-edge quality sometimes appears to be more accidental than genuine, due to trite or misfired gags and clunky moments of staging. Thankfully, there are also plenty of solid laughs. Les Spindle – Frontiers

BITTERDTSS is billed as “a sinfully entertaining play about freedom.” The trouble is that the play seeks to be both funny and serious at the same time, while ultimately failing at both.Barnaby Hughes – Stage and Cinema

SWEETSo informative, animated, funny and wonderful was David Bertolino’s The Deep Throat Sex Scandal press opening at the Zephyr Theater tonight, that I had to come right home after the show and start my review while it’s still fresh in my mind.Lydia Lee – Julie Meadows

BITTERSWEETThe curious thing about “Throat” is how much it mirrors the original film: cheerful nudity, uneven acting, cheap sets, ham-fisted storytelling.Charlotte Stoudt – LA Times

SWEETAs Babcock, Reems, Damiano and Traynor, actors Hart, Ginsburg, Savage and Tomkiw are on dramatic comedy terra firma. But director Douglas can’t prevent some supporting performances from lurching into sketch comedy, and the clash is grating. What saves it is Parker’s ever-so-nuanced Lovelace. Aside from her physical resemblance to the late star, and amidst her submissive veneer, Parker captures the flickerings of a woman who will, in time, exact her revenge on the entire industry.Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly

SWEETThe acting was fairly good with Malcolm Madera a standout as a charismatic Reems. Lori Gardener is lovely as Linda. Prosecutor Larry Parrish (a wonderful Frank Blocker) delvers the funniest, dirtiest monologue that I have heard in a long time. David Bertolino has written a compelling and still relevant play. Director Jerry Douglas, an award-winning adult director, has done a terrific job of casting and keeping things moving.Robert Machray – Stagehappenings

BITTERIf all else fails, take off your clothes – which they do. That might be the only way this show finds an audience. It’s about fellatio, it features male and female nudity, and it pretends to be controversial. The show is such a mess that I regularly heard cast and crew talking backstage as if wondering what to do next. If you are wondering what to do, don’t get sucked into DTSS. Macho Show Queen – Los Angeles Magazine

BITTERSWEETGenerally speaking, The Deep Throat Sex Scandal is fine as a novelty, but it lacks the all of the trappings of real art.Mia Bonadonna – LAist

About the Author: We don’t “review” shows here at the Lemon, rather we "review" reviews by gathering them from a variety of local review sites around the internet, judging them to be positive or negative, then forming an aggregate score that we call a LEMONMETER RATING, showing how well that show has been reviewed in total. For more detail on how the LemonMeter works visit here.